Foothill survives slow start to beat Sierra Vista

Foothill football coach Martin Redmond was not happy with his team’s performance on Friday, but he wasn’t exactly upset, either.

Mostly, he was just relieved to get his team off the field with a victory as the host Falcons rallied from an early deficit to defeat Sierra Vista, 57-44.

Nick Gardner completed 10 of 13 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns to lead Foothill.

“When you can win and you don’t feel like you played very well, that’s always a good thing,” Redmond said.

Sierra Vista (1-2) jumped ahead early, scoring on a first-quarter pass from Randal Grimes to Octavious Payne and a second-quarter TD run by Grimes to take a 14-0 lead.

“We just had to make some plays and get the ball back to the offense,” Redmond said. “We finally started executing, and we took advantage of some things they gave us.”

The Falcons (2-2) took control with 22 points in the second quarter courtesy of touchdown runs by Justice Jackson and Gardner, and a 13-yard scoring pass from Gardner to David Perci just before halftime. Foothill led 22-14 at the half and maintained the advantage the rest of the way.

Persi caught four passes for 98 yards and three TDs, and teammate Bryce Broadwell hauled in three passes for 90 yards and one score for Foothill.

The Mountain Lions, who made it interesting with 27 second-half points, got 86 yards and a TD from Andrew Peterson on eight carries. Payne rushed seven times for 73 yards and two TDs.